The Art of Spirited Away

Although I am not a big anime fan in general, I am a huge fan of Miyazaki Hayao's work. The highlight of his movies and comic books is usually the story itself, but in the case of Spirited Away, I think it would be fair to say that the sheer beauty and imagination of the film is just as amazing as the story itself. For me, Spirited Away was by far the first, and to date only, animated movie that I could call visually stunning. The viewer, be he or she 5, 25, or 65 is as drawn into Miyazaki's world as the protagonist Chihiro is. This book allows you to revisit the movie through its art. Full of concept sketches, character designs, and backgrounds from the movie, this book also includes an introduction by Miyazaki himself as well as frequent commentary by the artists that worked on this film and even an explanation of some of the technology that helped make this such a visually appealing film. The book's price may seem a bit steep, but at around 250 full color, high quality pages I felt I more than got my money's worth. There has been talk of Miyazaki retiring, but I hope this is not the case. With Spirited Away gaining such popular and critical acclaim in the United States, I hope he continues to work his magic for years to come, continuing to make his impression left not only on Japan, but to the global audience. With the increase in animation technology and the continuing strength of Miyazaki's imagination and storytelling power, it seems that the best is yet to come.

This is a beautifully illustrated book, containing image stills from the movie, concept art, story boards, CGI work, and lots of interesting facts from the studio itself. This version is in English. As an artist, looking through art books gives me incredible motivation to create my own artwork, and being a HUGE fan of Spirited Away (well, Studio Ghibli in general), this book is amazingly inspirational. This book is without a doubt a treat for those who like to look at art books just to gaze at the eye candy, too! The pages are thick and sturdy, which a low gloss to them, making the coloration really pop in the images. I definitely recommend this for any fans of Spirited Away and/or Studio Ghibli!

I love this movie and the book captures that beauty. It has screenshots from the movie that make you appreciate how much effort went into it. Normally, when you watch a movie, the images go too fast to really appreciate them. But this book lets you take the time and look at all of the details that the artists put into it. I also enjoy the line art of the animations that the book has. The only thing that I wish this book had was more behind the scenes in how they created the movie. It would've really opened my eyes to the amount of effort that occurs during production.

Beautifully sketches. Beautiful color designs. Like for example the different colors tones during the day, dawn and night over the town.

Libro recibido en perfecto estado

I bought this book as a graduation present for my daughter who is an artist and a Ghibli fan (with Spirited Away being her favorite Ghibli movie). The book is gorgeous! Beautiful pictures, details about why art decisions were made, and the script of the entire movie is in the back! My daughter loves it and is now hoping to collect the other books like it of all the Ghibli movies.

This book is a no-brainer for fans of Studio Ghibli. All others can take a pass, but aficionados will appreciate all that went into this book. It is put together with loving care and will make any interested reader quite happy. My teen daughter thinks is great and I can appreciate all of the attention and care that went into creating this tome from a graphic designer's perspective. For the right person, this book is a big win. All others may enjoy the art and history, but just won't feel the same reverence for the subject matter. ~ Kort

The art in this book was amazing. just in case people are looking for something different i'll explain the breakdown of this book. there are a lot of explications about the processes of the art, including how they digitally enhanced the original paintings. There is a fair amount of concept art, but you are looking for a book full of the original art this book is not for you. the next part has a break down of the movie with shots from the movie (for Spirited Away fanatics this part is a little redundant). The last section of the book is the script. I personally love this book, I am not picky when it comes to "the art of...." books. For people who want new information and in depth analysis of concepts and art that went into the book, there is a fair amount of this, but maybe not as much as you would like.

Beautiful book and gift. We love it

Beautiful art in this book. Perfect for Anime/Ghibli lovers

This is such a good book, I love Spirited Away

Un super livre relié comme je l'espérais. Malgré une première commande défectueuse avec un produit livré abîmé l'échange est parfait et rapide et le produit est conforme cette fois. Je suis ravie de pouvoir l'offrir à son destinataire qui sera enchanté car c'est un grand fan. Merci

No